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Today’s companies have multiple ways to engage with buyers, generate demand, and drive opportunities for growth with a robust Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy.
Unfortunately, many organisations are still focused on the same two concepts: inbound marketing, and outbound sales motions. While these two methodologies are still useful, the changing landscape means companies can no longer afford to stick with just one or two strategies.
Diminishing buyer trust, difficult economic conditions, and problems with customer retention mean business leaders need to get more creative. They need a portfolio of different “GTM motions”, tailored to specific segments of their target market.
A multi-pronged approach ensures organisations can benefit from greater flexibility, and the ability to adapt rapidly to evolving market dynamics. So, how do you move beyond a reliance on just inbound and outbound strategies in 2024?
According to analysts like Gartner, “Go To Market” strategies are plans that detail how organisations should engage with customers to convince them to buy their offerings or gain a competitive advantage. While most companies start with traditional inbound marketing methods and outbound strategies, like cold calling and sales pitching, today’s landscape requires a multi-faceted approach.
For instance, as sales and marketing messages become less effective, due to issues with cultivating and maintaining buyer trust, standard inbound methods may not be as effective as working with partners to capture the attention of new consumers. One study found buyers now have 16% more trust in recommendations from indirect sources, like peers and partners.
Additionally, as buyer budgets continue to diminish, and companies attempt to accomplish more with less, organisations need to think carefully about how they can connect with buyers on an emotional level and facilitate loyalty. This is leading to a growing demand for community-led strategies, product-led GTM campaigns, and event-led efforts for driving quality connections.
In 2024, there are at least 6 GTM motions all companies should be considering.
Inbound-led go-to-market strategies are all about pulling buyers towards your business, with a combination of the right content, and a commitment to delivering value. It requires companies to do more than simply attract consumer attention at the top of the funnel.
A comprehensive inbound-led strategy needs to focus on capturing and connecting with customers through the full buyer lifecycle. A strong inbound-led approach requires companies to invest in creating content that improves their company and solution’s visibility, but also educates consumers and arms them to become champions for the organisation.
For instance, when Looka launched in 2016, it focused heavily on SEO strategies to attract customers with content tailored to keywords like “logo generator”. However, after a brand name change led to a drop in website traffic, Looka recognised the importance of broadening its customer acquisition channels, experimenting with affiliate strategies, and automated customer onboarding.
Sometimes considered the opposite of Inbound-Led GTM strategies, outbound methods are all about pushing a solution to an intended buyer. The key to success here is ensuring you’re approaching the right potential prospects from day one. It’s not just about capturing as many leads as possible, but identifying the right accounts for your organisation, and providing them with personalised offers.
While building your brand and improving awareness with inbound marketing efforts can help generate long-term success, companies still need to be proactive in today’s economic environment.
Applying an account based marketing approach to your outbound-led strategies ensures you can focus on capturing customers with highly relevant offers, based on their specific needs and pain points. This not only increases your chances of conversions but can help to enhance the customer experience, leading to greater loyalty and retention in the future.
The benefits of partner-led growth strategies are becoming increasingly clear in an environment where buyers are now less trusting of everyday companies. Consumers aren’t just asking “how” they can solve the problems they face, but who they can trust to guide them towards the right solution.
A partner-led approach ensures you can surround your buyers with trusted partners who advocate for your business, and increase your chances of sales. For instance, the PandaDoc SaaS company runs multiple partner programs, working with resellers, agencies, affiliates, distributors, and ISV partners, to ensure they’re reaching a broad audience of potential prospects.
With this strategy, the company not only enhances demand generation, and unlocks new opportunities for growth, but also positions itself as a trustworthy leader in its industry. In 2024, companies will need to rethink how they work with partners to enhance their brand’s reputation, reduce customer acquisition costs, and even improve their value offering, through ecosystem-led growth.
Communities are becoming extremely valuable in the GTM landscape, not just for acquiring new prospects, but also for cultivating loyalty and retention. Studies show online communities can increase brand engagement by 21%. Plus, 68% of branded community leaders say that their community-driven approach has helped them to generate new leads.
A community-led GTM motion is all about bringing people together around a company and its solutions. For instance, HubSpot might be well-known for its inbound marketing efforts, it also leverages community experiences to its advantage. The company regularly runs community-led events that help it to tap into the expertise of its community members and partners, and learn more about the needs of its target audience.
A community-led approach to growth helps companies foster longer-lasting relationships with their customers, make data-driven decisions about future product developments, and even transform customers into advocates, reducing customer acquisition costs. The key to success here is ensuring you have the right team members, and technology to staff and resource a community experience.
As consumers in the B2B and B2C landscape become more discerning with their purchasing decisions, they’re increasingly looking for evidence that a solution can address their needs, before they’re willing to make a purchase. Product-led growth is all about showing customers the capabilities of a solution, before asking them to take a risk by making a purchase.
This strategy, particularly common in the SaaS landscape, offers consumers a “try before you buy” experience, with demos, free samples, and similar strategies. Used correctly, this strategy can lead to better win rates, higher customer lifetime values, and shorter sales cycles.
For instance, Unbounce offers a free trial to consumers, which converts around half of its prospects into paying buyers. The challenge here is in figuring out how much of your product to “show” to your customers, to encourage them to make a purchase. Companies need to ensure they’re not giving too much away for free, while still guaranteeing their customers can see clear opportunities for value.
Similar in some ways to community-led growth, event-led growth is all about supplying your buyers and prospects with premium experiences that drive quality connections. It’s a unique opportunity for companies to showcase thought leadership, build brand awareness, and generate trust.
In 2024, however, the approach to event-led marketing needs to be refined. Annual conferences aren’t enough to bring modern buyers through the purchasing journey effectively. Events need to be smaller and tailored to the specific segments and groups you want to reach. They also need to be mapped to the stage of the buyer journey your customer is currently navigating.
For instance, Canva Events include everything from webinars to user-generated content events where they showcase the successes of their existing customers. Combining your event strategy with community-led efforts, and partnership-led growth opportunities can be an excellent way to boost your chances of capturing and retaining consumers in 2024 and beyond.
Inbound and outbound GTM methodologies still have a role to play in the modern landscape. However, companies also need to be willing to explore and integrate a wide range of other motions into their strategy, for the best chances of success.
Integrating partner-led, community-led, product-led, and event-led GTM efforts with your traditional inbound and outbound campaigns can boost your chances of acquiring and converting customers, particularly as the sales journey grows more complex.
The right blend of motions will reduce customer acquisition costs, increase your chances of attracting the right customers, and support long-term retention. With a multi-motion approach, you’ll be able to adapt, evolve, and grow in a challenging marketplace more rapidly.
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